Watchdog: Oops, another math error cited in Belmar boardwalk project

Oops: Another math error cited in Belmar boardwalk project

Apr. 5, 2013

Belmar plans to pay a Freehold contractor $108,000 to dig up 30 cubic yards of asphalt and dirt as part of the boardwalk construction project. / Asbury Park Press file photo

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BELMAR — Call it the $108,000 pit: The borough plans to pay a Freehold contractor six figures to dig up 30 cubic yards of asphalt and dirt for the boardwalk project.

Initially, the pit was to cost $3,600. But because of a “mathematical error,” the contractor — ironically named Precise Construction — now wants $104,400 more to do the job.

On Wednesday, Borough Council voted 3-2 to amend the contract and give Precise the extra cash.

Mayor Matt Doherty argues that even with the amended digging cost, Precise’s overall $468,375 charge for installing utilities and for laying concrete at the boardwalk is $91,625 cheaper than the next lowest bidder for the job.

“It’s really disingenuous to say they’re digging a $108,000 hole,” said Doherty, who believes it is fairer to compare Precise’s total price to the other two bids submitted, Mark Woszczak Mechanical Contractors’ $560,000 and Cypreco Industries’ $619,500.

Neptune’s Cypreco bid $7,500 to dig the pit, while Manasquan’s Mark Woszczak Mechanical Contractors was willing to do the job for a penny per cubic yard, or a total of 30 cents.

Councilman James Bean disagrees with Doherty, noting that Precise set $3,600 as the unit price for each of the 30 cubic yards it will dig up to test for utility line locations. Should Precise need to dig up an additional 10 cubic yards, for example, the company could stand to pocket an added $36,000, Bean said.

“Why should Belmar have to pay for the supposed mathematical errors of others?” Bean asked on Thursday. “Something doesn’t seem right here.”

The project is being overseen by Eatontown’s Birdsall Services Group, which was indicted last week on various charges of skirting pay-to-play laws that regulate government contracts and political contributions.

Doherty said he does not believe there was anything illicit in Precise seeking to increase its bid, even after knowing what its competitors were willing to do the job for. “Sometimes they make mistakes,” said Doherty of contractors. “This is embarrassing for them.”

Representatives for Precise and for the other two bidders could not be reached for comment.

Doherty said he will instruct Birdsall to tell Precise to get by with less than 30 cubic yards. The mayor expects the company to dig the pit later this month and for Borough Council to consider a change order to lower the contract’s cost retroactively, in May.

“The test pits will be kept to a minimum,” said Birdsall’s Paul Calabrese, the project’s engineer. “We expect this contract to come in well under the total award.”

Precise was refusing to do the job for $363,975, borough officials said on Wednesday.

Rebidding the project would have added at least three weeks to the start of work and likely would have resulted in a price similar to Precise’s $468,375, Doherty said.

Councilman Brian Magovern, who also voted against amending the contract, questioned the quality of work of a company that acknowledges making a six-figure mathematical error. “To make a $100,000 mistake is huge, it’s huge,” he said.